Median household income and mortality rate in cystic fibrosis.

Context: Poverty has been shown to be a determinant of health outcomes in many epidemiologic studies.

Objective: The goal of this study was to assess the association between household income and the mortality rate in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients.

Design, Setting, And Patients: We selected white patients diagnosed before 18 years old and having 1 or more records in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry since 1991.

Case-mix adjustment for evaluation of mortality in cystic fibrosis.

Comparison of patient mortality rates in cystic fibrosis (CF) obtained from different institutions requires the use of case-mix adjustment methods to account for baseline differences in patient and disease characteristics. There is no current professional consensus on the use of case-mix adjustment methods for use in comparing mortality rates in CF. Characteristics used for this case-mix adjustment should include those that are different across institutions and are associated with patient survival.